Next week I’ll be heading to Austin, Texas, to participate in the Texas Attorney General Office’s 2017 Constitutional Law Conference on July 19, 2017. I’m on the first panel entitled “The Past, Present and Future of Judicial Deference to Federal Agencies,” with Aditya Bamzai and Kristin Hickman and moderated by Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller. I’ll be mainly discussing the findings from Kent Barnett and my Chevron in the Circuit Courts study. Here’s the description of our panel:

This panel on federal administrative law will analyze the origins of the doctrines of judicial deference articulated in United States Supreme Court decisions such as Chevron and Auer. The panelists will discuss the ways in which lower federal courts have applied these doctrines as well as new developments in the Supreme Court’s understanding of judicial deference to agency action. As this area of law appears to be evolving, the panel will also shed light on the ways in which the Roberts Court may continue to modify the contours of administrative law in the future.

The conference is free and open to the public, and you can register on the program website. Here’s the full schedule:

9 a.m. Welcome and Introductions
9:15 a.m. “The Past, Present and Future of Judicial Deference to Federal Agencies”
10:30 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m. “The Law and Practice of the Religious Liberty Clause”
Noon Lunch on your own
1 p.m. “Understanding the Federal Government’s Spending Power”
2:15 p.m. Break
2:30 p.m. “Understanding Federalism from the Founding to the Present”
3:45 p.m. Break
4 p.m. “Debate – Have the Courts Gotten the Fourteenth Amendment Wrong?
And, if so, how can they get it right?”

Also, if you happen to be around Austin the night before (July 18, 2017 6-8PM), the Federalist Society’s Austin Lawyers Chapter will host what promises to be a “lively” discussion between Stephen Presser and me on the modern administrative state. Here’s the description of the event:

Join Stephen Presser and Chris Walker for a lively and timely discussion of the modern administrative state. Drawing from his most recent book, Law Professors: Three Centuries of Shaping American Law (West: 2017), Northwestern Law Professor Stephen Presser will discuss the values behind the Constitution and the changes in American legal education that paved the way for the ascendency of the current administrative state. Having recently finished an academic fellowship at the United States Senate, Ohio State Law Professor Chris Walker will respond to Professor Presser and offer commentary on how the current regulatory reform legislation pending in Congress may help restore first principles in administrative law.

As the description hints, I’ll be talking about my essay on the Portman-Heitkamp Regulatory Accountability Act as well as other regulatory reform legislation Congress is currently considering. This event is also free and open to the public, and you can register here.